6974/Dollhouse: Infiltrating the Triskelion

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Dollhouse: Infiltrating the Triskelion
Date of Scene: 17 July 2021
Location: The Triskelion: Courtyard
Synopsis: Infiltration in to the Triskelion seemed to be going smoothly until Talbot catches on and detains them all. Plan T - flip Talbot, which thanks to HYDRA's paranoia, they are able to do when HYDRA attempts to kill Talbot and the SHIELD agents. Mission success and the only bodies dropped were HYDRA.
Cast of Characters: Bobbi Morse, Lance Hunter, Natasha Romanoff, Melinda May, Daisy Johnson, Lara Croft




Bobbi Morse has posed:
    ~~ Ambassador Genevieve Louis-Guillaume, head diplomat of the French delegation to the United Nations, was found dead this this morning shot in her parking garage. A shocking and blatant assassination, the FBI is on the hunt for two suspects. Louis-Guillaume was chairing a proposal to re-open the investigation in to World War 2 era Nazi organisation HYDRA, US Senator Feavits, Ambassador el-Lodi who is still missing, and the Iron Fortitude private military company that has operations across the globe. Louis-Guillaume was recorded earlier in the week stating 'S.H.I.E.L.D. was and is our most trusted ally and to dismiss their claims outright on the word of an American government worker is lunacy. France does not bow to the USA, the United Nations is not owned by them.' The vote was to be called today but has now been delayed a week while the proposal is re-chaired. ~~


    The outside area around the Triskelion is a military camp bustling with activity. They've been trying to pick apart what SHIELD was up to and break in to our secure servers and vaults for months now. They've put up fencing and flood lights. The steady flow of trucks entering and leaving are stopped at the mouth of the bridge. As the truck containing SHIELD is stopped, Bobbi keeps the brim of her military cap down. Her hair is up in a military bun, tight, and she hands over her identification and 'orders'.

    Just a casual military truck bringing in personnel changes. Nothing too suspicious there. A quick verification and indeed, it seems that this was a legitimate entry in to the base.

    The boom gate rises and the truck drives on through. Tents dot the court yard. They have the layout from surveillance. Their goal isn't in those tents - their goal is inside the Triskelion. A blood sample of Peggy Carter in 1949, and a fancy medical machine designed by Jemma Simmons. Together, these two things could save Peggy's life.

    Team A: Morse, Romanoff, Hunter - get the blood sample; Team B: May, Johnson, Croft - get the medical machine. Team C: Backup and extraction if things go wrong. Bobbi adjusts her military fatigues just a touch and checks the dendro-toxin rounds in her pistol. It's no ICER but it's non-lethal. Just in case.

    The truck is parked in the designated parking area and she peeks her head in to the back of the canopied area. "Alright, we all know the plan. Let's be efficient and quiet."

Lance Hunter has posed:
Hunter is in the passenger seat dressed in a sergeant's uniform, hat pulled low, case of beer by his side, the standard 9mm pistol in his holster. He passes his ID to Bobbi to pass to the guard. "Helluva day, huh?" Hunter says to the guards in a Southern drawl as he looks at the trucks coming and going. He pulls a couple of beers from the case. "You boys want some for after your shift?" he asks with a smile.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    The last time Shield was in a position to make reports, or communicate with the government, Natasha Romanoff was classified as having gone rogue, via... complex circumstances. In a way, maybe that's all right. If she gets caught, it doesn't necessarily mean *SHIELD* had infiltrated the Triskelion. If anything, it might back up the Hydra theory.

    Mind you, Natasha isn't looking to get caught tonight. "Ma'am." Natasha replies with just enough of a hint of a southern drawl to make one think the military drummed it out of her, dressed in military fatigues with her hair tied back under her cap, and a rifle in her hands.

    Just for appearances, mind. Even if she was going lethal, she probably wouldn't lean towards a weapon quite so cumbersome. The toxin rounds in her sidearm will do fine.

    Natasha drops out of the back of the truck and smoothes out her uniform.

Melinda May has posed:
May sits in the back of the truck, her hair up just like the other women. When they're through the checkpoint and in the camp, she follows Romanoff out of the truck, stepping to one side to gather Johnson and Croft to her. Her fatigues are neat. Her weapon is likewise a 9-mil with toxin rounds rather than live rounds. She has a suppressor hidden in a pocket, on the off chance she has to use it. But really... she doesn't tend to use a weapon if her hands will do. And her hands often do just fine.

She glances to the other women. "Okay, we're going in as a tech crew. Daisy, you'll be doing the talking, if they start questioning expertise." Because Daisy's the computer guru. "Lara and I will act as interference, misdirection, and distraction. Do not attack anyone unless there's no other choice, and for god sake stay off camera, if you do."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I will start this by saying..." And Daisy seems preeeeetty smug when she does say it, "... that I am sorta proud they have yet to break into our servers as of yet.." look, she helped set their security! Bragging rights and all that.

She is checking on her gear while they go through that checkpoint, always a moment of tension during those moments, prepared for a fight .., but as they get past without trouble she exhales quietly, looking up at the teams. "This is a lot different than the Nepal spelunking, eh?" she says over to Lara with a grin, then adjusts her glasses. Yes, Daisy is with glasses. Civilian garb too. The cover? Having been brought in to help break into SHIELD's servers.

"Yes, ma'am." She says over to May, sliding out of the truck. She turns around to take a backpack to bring with her with her tools of the trade. "Ready to rock and roll..." it felt good getting back to normal.

With normal being breaking into a heavily guarded base. The usual!

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara has been in London for the past two months, but she'd recently returned and checked in, thusly she's here now for this Op.

Dressed in a black tanktop with a tac vest over that, a black beanie is on her head and some dark grey BDU trousers tucked in to black boots. She's otherwise just a casual member of the team. Her eyese look over to May and she nods her head. "Right." She says softly before stepping out of the vehicle and adjusting the beanie cap on top of her head that her hair is mostly tucked up inside of, with only a few dark strands coming out from beneath it. She scans her eyes over the camp they've setup around the building and just... softly shakes her head at it all before she quietly follows along, a weapon (or more) hidden on her person.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi glances over to Lance and asks about the beer, "Does that ever actually work. And if it does, imagine how many random guards around the world are never going to forget your face because the promised beer never arrived...."

    Identification badge in place she looks up at the big towers of the Triskelion and then nods. "Move out." Marked as a Lieutenant she motions to the buildings and begins heading there with purpose. She can't run as that'd draw attention, but a brisk walk is keeping in theme. The sooner they're out of this hornets nest the better.

    Inside the building is a mixture of military and civilian assets pouring over some of the simplest things. Agent House's weird hair dryer we all made fun of is being examined like it might hide a secret weapon inside of it. They're desperate for intelligence.

    Bobbi heads straight to the glass elevator and enters. As the doors close, she kneels down on one knee and opens up the panel, then reaches in and draws out a keypad. This is their home turf, they get the advantage. A code is entered and the lift makes a 'ding' sound and all the levels come to life.

    "We're headed to Ops," she says to Nat and Lance. "They're headed to medical," she says of the B-Team. The panel is shut and she stands back up as the lift heads up.

Lance Hunter has posed:
"Sure it does, soldiers are a thirsty bunch even if all they do is check email all day in the US Chair Force."

Once they're waved through and exit the truck he follows Nat and Bobbi into the lift. "Sounds good," he says before patting one of the glass walls. "Good to see you again," he tells the thing.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "Please don't talk to the elevator." Natasha says evenly, without looking at Lance; rechecking her pistol for the umpteenth time before holstering it again. "If we can't do this unseen, I'd at least like not to leave them a psychiactric profile."

    Natasha nods once firmly to Bobbi. "Lead the way, boss." Natasha isn't one for optimism, but she at least hopes they can get out of here without striking up any conversation. If they ever do clear their names, it would be extremely awkward for Natasha to have had to seduce anyone occupying the Triskelion.

Melinda May has posed:
May's team join's Bobbi's in the elevator, but they get off at the med level, rather than going all the way up to Ops. She brushes fingers along the brim of her cap as they do, giving Morse a small, sharp smile. "Good hunting."

Then, she, Daisy, and Lara are on their way down the hall, heading for Jemma's lab. May sets a brisk pace, sergeant's chevrons on her blue digital BDU jacket. She's learned, when it comes to military, a purposeful, quick stride and an on-a-mission expression tend to get you fairly deep into almost any base, once you've passed the main checkpoints. So she uses those weapons with the hope they'll be all she needs.

Which doesn't mean she's not prepared to use something else.

She, however, won't be seducing anyone. No way. Doesn't mean she can't figure out who'd be most vulnerable to it. Her senses reach out, starting to peg individual emotional signatures within her range, getting an idea of how many people are nearby and just where they might be encountered.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
A shudder runs through her briefly. "I knew he'd be doing something weird like that..." Daisy says quietly on comms when Natasha reveals the man was talking TO the elevator. She clips in her ID badge on her front, showing the name she has for tonight, 'Rose Roberts, IT expert'. And one last adjustment on her glasses and she is off to follow the military into the building, trying not to show that she knows her way around as good as anyone else here!

She puts in her not-so-military walk, having to sometimes skip faster to keep up with the drill sergeant pace that May imposes. All for the ruse! "No need to go so fast... It's not as if you guys broke into this all these months, you can wait a few more minutes.." a bit of snark to keep up appearances.

But the further they move in the more attentive she becomes focused as well, sensing the surroundings, familiar signatures. No need to get ambushed by strike team #23 waiting for them!

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's eyes go to those around them as they make their way to the lift. She follows the others on to it and keeps her hands at her sides, reaching in to a pocket though she pulls out a pair of fingerless gloves that she slipes on during the lift ride. Her eyes go up and then other to the others who speak and cause her to show a soft smile before they reach their floor. With May leading and Daisy along her side, Lara disembarks and spares a glance back to the team they're leaving behind. "Good luck." The Briton says softly to the others.

Eyes forward now, Lara keeps pace with May. She notes Daisy's commentary beside her and glances over to the other. "It's good to be back." She notes quietly, a bit of dry humor as they go is always nice, right?

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi gives a small nod in return to May. Their most recent action with each other - at the Triskelion in the framework and on a tropical island - gave her a new respect for their dynamic. Just as the doors are shutting, a hand pushes through and in steps a captain and two privates to join the A-Team in the elevator.

    The oddest thoughts cross your mind at times like these.. like.. didn't this elevator used to have music? She stiffens her posture and salutes to the captain, "Sir."

    "Floor 15 - Operations," heh says to his private, who lifts up a lanyard to swipe the security sensor but sees the other group is already headed to the same floor. "Vertical travel companions. I don't know why these spy types build a big obvious building and have a glass elevator that everybody can see in to. Am I right?"

    Bobbi lifts her chin and smiles, "Yes sir. Very on the nose sir." Her eyes shut for a moment.. Nat isn't really going to seduce them is she? likely Lance will become best friends with the privates in the less than minute travel time up to operations.

    A guard steps in to the hallway in front of May and another behind him. He holds up a hand for them to stop as the second guard looks at their civilian consultant and spies the badge. "This is medical. I.T. is 5 floors down ma'am," he says being helpful to the sergeant. The second guard lifts up a scanner and runs it over the lanyard Daisy has on. A beep, a green light. Gotta keep an eye on those civilian types.

    The first spies Lara's fingerless gloves and says, "Mind, the Captain is a stickler for uniform."

Lance Hunter has posed:
Hunter smirk at Nat. "You're just jealous because Lifty likes me better," he says shaking his head.

When their travel companions enter the lift he salutes the captain and nods to the two privates, rolling his eyes at the captain's observation about the elevator. Leaning over so he can whisper to the men, "We just arrived, chow any good here?" he says keeping up the southern drawl for now.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    IS Nat going to seduce him? Hopefully not. But she lays some groundwork. Feigns a delighted little giggle at his joke that she quickly 'tries to suppress' out of professionalism with a short sniff, and straightening up. Gives him a little smile, eyes just half visible under the rim of her hat. Subtle little flutter of the eyes.

    Just in case.

    

Melinda May has posed:
May glances to Lara when the guard notes those gloves. Her expression has a warning note in it. They need to play by the guards' rules, which may mean losing the gloves. She then glances to Daisy, expecting her to step in and explain how the medical servers are locally isolated and require different protocols... or whatever bullshit the hacker comes up with. As long as they buy it, that's what matters. If they don't...

Well, May really hopes they do.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"How sweet." Daisy sniffs, then smiling towards the guards almost as if she is teaching a class, "If only it was on I.T. that the servers we are looking for are!" a look to May of impatience and then back to the guards, "Well, I will let *you* know that we are wanting to reach server 24Gb-Fr, because we have reason to believe there is a backdoor installed in it that we will allow us to crack into the rest of the servers. It also has a known vulnerability due to not having been updated as the others, which means I will be able to use an FTP protocol to get in. Which is impossible in the others. And that's only the tip of the iceberg."

There is a pause, she looking at the guards, "And of course, I am here explaining all this while I could be doing the work I have been hired to do. Which I might say I am being paid by the hour and there's over 5 digits in it?"

A look to Lara, "Remind me to put this time lost on the hour reports when they ask why I am being paid the price of a small country to do this..." maybe she didn't have her coffee this morning.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara comes to a stop when the men step in front of them. She is quick to look down to her gloves when they're called out, and it cause sher to raise her hands up to unsnap them and slip her hands out. She smiles at the man who speaks up about them, and then replies in an American accent, a very passable-- if a bit stereotypical southern drawl. "Oh gosh, I forgot I had'em on. They help with drivin' ya see." She states, her eyes going from one of the men to the other. "Plus, one'a the fellas downstairs said there's a rock climbin' wall somewhere in here?" She shakes her head slowy and sighs, her gloves being stuffed in to a pouch on her chest. "I'd been hopin' t'get my hands on that for awhile. Hobby'a mine, ya see." She states very casually / happily.

She pats her chest pouch then she stuffed them in to. "All gone, will make sure not t'make that mistake again." Where'd she learn this accent from, the Dukes of Hazard?? A nod is given to May then and a smile to Daisy. "You got it, Boss." She says of the needed reminder!

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    There's just a small moment of doubt when the second guard with the scanner says, "They still have FTP running on their servers? not even SFTP or SCP?" But then he looks more amused that SHIELD would be so dumb than to actually question the story of the specialist.

    The first guard, however, has no idea what Daisy is babbling on about and his eyes glass over. He looks to May for assistance but knows he's not going to get any. His look, instead, turns sympathetic that the sergeant is stuck with this nightmare of a consultant.

    "As you were ma'am," he says trying to stop Daisy from technobabbling at him any more and steps back. With a quick nod to Croft the guard says, "In their gym," he says in a slight whisper, "we have a standing arrangement with delta-crew to let us play in there at 8pm on the dot every Tuesday." The two guards give the sergeant a salute.

    The private leans over and whispers back to Lance, "We ran out of the shield stuff and are back to regular military." He waggles a hand, "I could have gotten used to it."

    The Captain smiles just a touch toward Nat and says, "Don't I know you from somewhere soldier?" The elevator goes ding and he says, "Another time perhaps." He strides out with his two privates in tow.

    Bobbi looks out in a state of shock at just how many analysts and consultants and soldiers are up here. They're reading through every physical file they could get their hands on. Almost all of which is unclassified to most allied militaries anyway.. but they're hoping to strike gold it seems.

    "My office," she says and starts her walk around the perimeter of the bullpen. Her office has been cleared out of stuff. Some of her personal items too. Some of Gonzales's items on top of that. She walks over to the wall and places her hand there. An invisible scanner sweeps over it and the panel pops out. Inside, she takes out a single vial of blood and slips it in to an armored case inside her jacket.

    "Step one complete." She taps her comms <Team B, status?>

Lance Hunter has posed:
"Damn I heard Fury didn't skimp on the SHIELD mess," Hunter murmurs to the privates. "Best get going," he says as they reach ops. "Hope to see you boys around," he says clapping one on the shoulder before following Bobs and Nat to the office, keeping an eye on the door while the blood's recovered. "So-" he begins as the blood is put away, before flinching. "Damn, almost said 'so far so good' and jinxed us."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "I think I'd remember." Is Natasha's response her tone straddling to border between 'I meant that in a flattering way' and 'trying to maintain professionalism'. It helps to maintain a veneer of effort. Makes her seem a tad vulnerable, like there's cuter layers to find underneath. Guys like that. Historically. She just gives a short nod as the men leave. She's resisting any and all impulses to heave a sigh until they're actually safe back home.

    Natasha disguises any disdain she feels for how the Triskelion is being treated. She's usually not one to grow attached to places, but... as safehouses go... this one lasted a while.

    "Good." Is her curt response to finding the sample; though when Lance jinxes them by not jinxing them, Natasha briefly indulges in a look at him that could peel paint.

Melinda May has posed:
May returns the salutes smartly. She's learned not to be casual with military servicemen. Their pride in service is the equal of hers in SHIELD. She can respect that. Besides, these guys aren't her enemies. They're just being used by them.

"Gentlemen," she says, nodding simply as they retreate to return to their duty. She glances to the two women with her. "Let's go, Ladies."

They proceed into medical unimpeded. Though again, like Bobbi, she's mildly surprised at just how many people are here. It's not crowded. Most of the people here are really just doing general inventory. Which means there are no officers, and no one above a Senior Airman. Her Master Sergent stripes will handle that well enough.

"Let's make this quick," she tells the others. She knows where the machine should be. Now they just have to retrieve it.

Remarkably enough, it actually doesn't take them long. When one of the airmen does look askance at them, May arches an even brow. "As you were, Airman," she tells him coolly. "Above your paygrade."

"Yes, sergent," he replies smartly, going back to his inventory.

Daisy takes charge of the machine. "Give her a hand," May instructs Lara as they start heading back out toward the lift to head back down to the foyer.

It's only once they're away from the airmen and the guards that she responds softly to Bobbi. "<<Payload acquired. Withdrawing.>>"

Lara Croft has posed:
The talk of the rock wall from the man gets a soft half grin from Lara and a single nod toward him in acknowledgement. "I'll have'ta remember that then, I'd like t'join ya'll for some'a that." She adds cheerily. Her eyes dart back over to Daisy and back at the tech talk, she shaking her head side to side. "Ya'll and your compuders... Figure I'll be asleep before this run is over." She jokes!

When the salutes are given, Lara plays along, she was never military herself but she's been around military people since she was in her early teens. Her Mentor who took her in after the death of her parents was very hardcore former military and he taught her... a lot before his passing.

As they progress, Lara falls quietly again up until their arrival at the servers. May's irders to help has Lara nodding. "Will do my best." She says softly back in her quiet British accented voice, not wishing her voice to carry too far after all when she's talking normally.

So it is that Lara moves along with Daisy then to assist her where and how she can, though computers really are not her speciality by any means outside of regular usages.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi hears the report from May and then nods to Nat and Lance, "Let's go. Home stretch. If we make it thanks to my husband Lance...," she adds that last bit since like Nat.. a not-jinx is still a jinx to her. A narrowing of eyes, then a small smile. They've been in crowded military bases before surrounded by enemy.

    The trip back to the elevator isn't difficult. The elevator even stops at medical and there is Team B to join them. As they head back down to the lobby, Bobbi is almost holding her breath. She doesn't want to tell herself they're about to pull this off because.. well right now they can blame Lance for jinxing it and she already jinxed her vacation plans.

    The elevator opens up in to the large marble floored lobby of SHIELD. As they travers the floor with Daisy and Lara rolling the machine, they come to the big SHIELD eagle embedded in to the floor, surrounded by gold.

    It is then that a host of two dozen troops with rifles raised step in from outside and from side doors and quickly surround them. Stepping through their ranks - Colonel Talbot. "Black Widow," he says assuming incorrectly that she's behind this incursion, "How stupid do you think I am?"

    ~~ Fade to black ~~

    The detention tent outside is green canvas with guards stationed outside, security feed. The group, now in handcuffs and disarmed, is trapped inside awaiting. They have a brief moment alone before Talbot is to return to find out just what he's caught. Bobbi looks around at the group, "Plan T it is." The Talbot gambit. Flip him. Convince him he's been working for HYDRA and to let them go. A lot of truth can take them a long way.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "I hate Plan T." is Natasha's measured response as she idly rolls her wrists in her handcuffs, trying to gauge just how badly and just how quickly she'd have to break her thumb to get out of them, barring any other methods.

    She really does, too. Plan T hinges on someone having good intentions.

Lance Hunter has posed:
"Bloody hell," Hunter says when faced with the men with guns in the lobby. "This one's on me," he tells Bobs and Nat before they're taken into custody.

In the tent, he sits with his hands cuffed behind his back, jaw, already showing a bruise. "If he didn't want an answer to that question, he shouldn't have asked," he grouses as the man in question, Talbot paces in front of them.

"Shut it, you slimey limey," he remarks to Hunter before eyeing the rest of the group. "You all thought you could slip in here right under my nose, huh? Bold, not very bright, but bold," he remarks almost sounding complimentary as he says that. "I hope it keeps you warm at night wherever they're going to lock some of you up," he says before pausing his pacing and eyeing the group. "I say some of you because I got a deal for the first person to tell me what I want to know... can one of you guess what that is?"

Melinda May has posed:
"Plan T." May echoes Bobbi, her voice carrying a note of both dry amusement and inevitable resignation. Hands cuffed, she gives Bobbi a knowing look that basically says she'll do a read of the man's emotions as they go. Just in case it helps.

She's not sure it will. But she can hope that he's smarter than he looks. Smarter than the moustache cam implies.

She's probably not the one to lead the discussion, mind... though stranger things have happened. If she starts reading things the others don't, she'll certainly step in.

As Talbot comes in and starts his usual blowhard routine, she lets her face set into a light, neutral expression, looking up at him and watching him pace with mild speculation on her face.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara helps guide the equipment on the rollers with Daisy, muttering toward her. "Gloves would be nice." She says due to the sharp edges on the metal box! She smirks at herself but ultimately focuses on the job at hand!

The lobby, the lovely lovely lobby! They're almost there, this is working... it's gonna work....

And then guys with guns.

Lara's eyes scan around as they rush in and surround them. She takes her hands off of the server and raises them up, just sighng to herself. It didn't work....

When they're cuffed and set in the tent, Lara just eyes their captors and then glances to the others with her, being that they're the seniors here she just keeps quiet for the time being, quietly counting to herself in her head how many times she's been cuffed this year...

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Of course Lance took one to the face. He's a punch magnet that man. "Yup," she says as he takes the blame for this one. But really it's her fault - the plan wasn't good enough - everyone knows it, it's just light hearted humour and superstition.

    Bobbi takes off her cap and steps forward, "I'm going to lay it for you straight Colonel." Because she's not going to throw Nat under the bus for this one, and May has her own set of skills to bring to bear. Hopefully she can get Lance and Lara out of this one though.

    When the Triskelion fell Bobbi had been pulled in to an interview with the FBI as a 'consultant to SHIELD' they wanted to know if she was still working with them. Doctor Morse said, of course not. She passed their lie detector test and went on her way.

    "HYDRA has alive and well and pulling the strings. Your boss, General Hale, she's HYDRA." Straight to the point. She's not sure they're going to win him over by telling him they're here to save their bosses life.

    "HYDRA have infiltrated many levels of government, including the Secretary of Defence Maelstrom, is actually Nathaniel Mallick. Gideon Mallick's son, the man who runs HYDRA. SHIELD took the hit and we kept on doing our work because no one else would. Just this morning, HYDRA assassinated a UN council member to stop a vote that would potentially expose them. Senator Feavits tests weapons for AIM, who are making the weapons for HYDRA. Feavit's company Iron Fortitude ships the weapons around the world under the guise of private military security contracts. Any of this ringing a bell yet Colonel?"

Lance Hunter has posed:
"That's a cute story Dr. Morse, but lemme guess, the proof is in your other pants huh?" he asks, eyes narrowing as he leans in close to Morse looking her right in the eye for just a moment before his head snaps over to Natasha. "Got something to say? Tell you what, if you can let me know where the rest of SHIELD is hiding, we'll let you go back to being an Avenger, you can leave SHIELD behind with a clean slate and you won't even have to drop a building on a man to do it, how about that deal?" he asks, before he moves down the line.

"Lady Croft, I read your book, interesting stuff, clearly you don't mind roughing it in the wilderness, but how's life in a black site sound? Doesn't have to go that way, be the first to tell me where to find SHIELD and you can go back home to your fancypants manor in England and be eating tea and crumpets this time tomorrow."

He continues down the line to May, "Ah, the famous Cavalry, been anxious to meet you, so, what do you say? Wanna help out your people here? Tell me what I want to know and I'll go easy on you, and the rest of this team here, hell, if the intel is solid I should be able to get Maelstrom to let the lot of you go free. Not bad, right? I won't even tell him your bullcrap about him and his father a couple of no good Squidbillies."

Down at the end of the line Hunter pipes up. "First off, offended you didn't ask me," he announces, before one of the guards slugs him. "And second of all, to save you some time, sod off," he says getting another slug for his trouble.

Talbot sighs, "Any of the rest of you want to say something a little smarter than Agent Hunter there?"

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha begins to speak - figuring if he's assuming she's in charge here, that he'll expect to hear it from her, and that it might keep some of the heat off of the others - but Bobbi speaks for them, and Natasha stays silent.

    It goes... about as well as she expected. Flat truth didn't help. Let's challenge his deductive reasoning. Without looking at Talbot, Natasha speaks. "Colonel? I can tell you're excited. You're in a real rush to catch the bad guys; I get it. But you've raised a few salient points yourself, sir, and when you look back on this incident, I think you're going to wish you'd asked a few questions."

    Natasha finally inclines her head to look at Talbot, sternly. "Why *would* an *Avenger* risk everything to walk back into the Triskelion? Why *would* Lady Croft hang around a bunch of traitors when she could relax comfortably in Britain? For all of us to risk *so much*, it must be important, right? Were we wiping evidence? Stealing a weapon? What was it all for?"

    Natasha turns her head and calls back to Talbot's men, "One of you monkeys tell him what we took..." and then Natasha looks to Talbot again, and says, "... and then tell me if it makes sense for terrorists to do all this; if you think you have all the facts you need."

Melinda May has posed:
That Talbot doesn't believe them is no surprise. May cants her head, evaluating Talbot, the flavour of him. She glances to Nat as she outlines the situation, analyzes it for him and lays it out.

"You're a smart man, Colonel." Yes, she keeps a straight face as she says it. "You know she's right. You run a tight ship. You've got to have noticed other discrepancies, too. Little things, maybe, but small breaches of protocol and procedure that shouldn't be happening on your watch. Don't tell me you're not watching for them, tracking them. You're too good not to be."

Somehow, she actually sounds sincere. And if the others start to feel an increased sense of confidence, sincerity, and openness... well, yes. Blame the empath. "We get it. You can't jump the chain of command, don't wanna speak out against Hale. United front. United service. That's fine. Don't. But... check it out, Colonel. Won't change the fact you've caught us dead to rights on your turf."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's eyes are down upon the others, she winces when Lance is hit yet again but otherwise stays quietly observant as the man she doesn't know takes personal pot shots at each of them to try to get information from them.

Bobbi's efforts were admirable, but seemed far fetched to land, Natasha's felt like it did lend a lot of credence to back it up... but this man was going to be terribly stubborn to work with.

The talk of her family home being a possible retreat has Lara tiredly grinning for a moment. She'd left the United States to DEAL with that very problem. The ownership of that property to be honest. She'd been fighting with her extended family with regard to that for the past two months, and to make matters worse a terrible storm prior to her arrival had toppled the giant tree in the back yard through the roof of the east wing... so her family home isn't in great condition to fall back on right now!

She exhales after a moment and speaks up herself after the others. "HYDRA's arms stretch far and wide, sir." She says, her voice almost tired sounding at this point. She softly shakes her head side to side. "I have not beeen at this as long as they have, but in my time with them, I've witnessed just how far they truly go. Their insidious intentions for the entire world are far worse than someone like you can easily understand, and I say this because... I couldn't easily understand it myself." She glances to her comrades in this endeavor then looks back to Talbot.

"They've shown me, however, what is going on. I trust them with my life, and I plan to do what I can to help stop it." She pauses, then adds. "You should make a decision on which side of this you really wish to be on when the storm clouds pull back."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    When Bobbi lays out far too much truth, one of the guards with Talbot standing next to the tent slips out. He walks a few metres away from the tent and takes out a phone, giving it a call. "Ma'am. It's Colonel Tablot. He's apprehended SHIELD agents attempting to breach the Triskelion and steal something."

    General Hale picks up the phone and listens to the report, "I see." She tilts her head and glances around the room she's in, "Everybody out." The group with her departs and she is alone. "Kill Talbot and the SHIELD agents. We will blame it on them, say they attacked the Triskelion and assassinated him. Leave a weapon in one of their hands. Whichever is the ugliest looking. And be quick about it. Hail HYDRA."

    The soldier puts his phone away and heads to the mess tent to gather up more of his allies.

    Bobbi winces as Lance is hit again. She lets out a long sigh of annoyance at Talbot being Talbot. They studied him. This was the expected response. "Colonel, sir," she says layering on the respect as appropriate. Profiling him was important, "Our mission here today was to retrieve medical equipment necessary to save Peggy Carter's life, after she was attacked by a HYDRA sleeper agent." She hates to paint House like that, but it's the truth that needs to be told here today.

    "This isn't pertinent to your mission, I get it."

    Daisy scoffs, "Colonel come on. Hale. HYDRA. Hail HYDRA." She waves her hands as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. Bobbi says, "We know them all and if you want proof." An ace in the hole, something that not even May knew about. Something she knew she would have to address sooner or later.

    "Colorado, HYDRA Academy. Set up to train their next generation of super infiltrators," she says. How does she know that? Well, she wasn't just SHIELD, she was Garrett's protege in the framework and thus HYDRA. She's been there. And although things are different in the real world, the people that went there went there for the same purpose.

    She states the location of the base.

    "Go there, see for yourself. You'll find records of Nathaniel Mallick, you'll find records of ex-SHIELD Commander Jasper Sitwell, you'll find records of Ambassador Alexander Pierce. We've cleaned our house Colonel, can you say the same for yours?"

Lance Hunter has posed:
Talbot looks at Natasha, the ends of his moustache twitching downwards as he frowns. He lifts a hand and opens his mouth as if about to reply, only to close it again and his hand drops. "Well?" he asks his men. "What'd they steal?"

"Something from medical, sir," one of the men reports and Talbot nods thoughtfully before May's words distract him for a moment, standing a little taller as she calls him smart.

The rest of what May says and then Crofts razor honed points, bring a pang of uncertainty to him that May can sense and others can see in how he rubs at his mustache thoughtfully.

Bobbi's words have him looking up, Daisy's too, "Wait a minute are you saying that Hale is some sort of filthy Calamari Mata-Hari, trained in some secret base in Colorado? That's rich" he says, but there a flash of something in his eyes.

He turns to his men.. "Alright, give me the room, I want to talk to these people in private."

HIs men hesitate.

"On the double" he barks and they file out of the tent. Alone with the captured agents Talbot turns.

"Okay, let's say I've seen a few things that makes what you say not sound totally ridiculous, now, sell me on it, what do you got in the way of proof?"

Melinda May has posed:
As the men slip out of the tent to go check on what Talbot wants, May's head turns as if she's listening to some distant sound. She meets Bobbi's eyes, unspoken warning in them. As she feels that signature return, alarm, urgency, and purpose having changed to a seething, malicious intent, her jaw sets, ready for a fight. "Your proof is incoming," she tells Talbot evenly. Her glance returns to Bobbi. "Hale knows. We're out of time."

Even as she says it, she grimaces. There's a sickening crunch as she breaks that little bone Nat was already thinking about breaking herself. "I count six," she tells the others. The cuff slides off the wrist where she broke that small bone. "They're pissed and aggressive. Assassination frame job." The last part of her statement is specifically for Bobbi, who will know she's talking about a typical HYDRA tactic. It's pure speculation on her part, but they both know HYDRA far too well for it not to be an experienced educated guess.

Heedless then of the Colonel, she turns and works to free Daisy's hands. Because... Quake.

Though, to be fair, if the Colonel attacks her, she will block him. She won't attack him in return, but she'll defend herself. Efficiently.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "... Ah." Natasha sighs. Left thumb it is. Popping the finger out of its joint, Natasha slips out of one of her handcuffs, takes three steps, and takes Talbot's side arm with a quick "Pardon me." before moving back to Bobbi, producing a hidden lockpick from her sleeve, and working to open Bobbi's cuffs.

Lara Croft has posed:
The unusual movement of the man heading outside right after they were making some possible headway with Talbot caught Lara's perceptive stare as well. She didn't make a huge show of it but she did certainly notice it. As the talking continues up to the point of proof being called for, Lara is preparing throughts in her head, at least until May and Romanoff are out of their chairs. God they're good at this Spy stuff...

Lara is on her feet and stepping around her chair to kick-shove it toward the exit where the man had gone out, if nothing else it might provide some split second of time to block any re-entry. Her hands are behind her back though, and there's little else she can do but step backward and try to find some cover for the time being...

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi frowns as May warns them of an incoming threat. That ability to read emotions? dang, just like Daisy's abilities to dodge things because she can feel them coming. Her allies are powerful. A smile to Nat as she's quickly out of the cuffs, "Thank you Nat." She nods to Lance and takes a pin out of her belt and does his cuffs next - sort of a pay it forward thing.

    Bobbi says, "Sorry Colonel, the real conversation is going to hav--" she doesn't have time to finish that sentence as six armed soldiers enter the tent with their guns drawn and raised.

    Bobbi turns swiftly to put herself in the way of Talbot as the second of the HYDRA goons dressed as soldiers shoots twice (the first stumbling against Lara's thrown chair). Both bullets hit Bobbi hard in the back. Her SHIELD armor underneath absorbs it but everyone in this tent knows the armor only does so much.

    She grunts in pain and rests her hands on Talbot's shoulders. Staring him in the eyes for just a moment, she turns and does a spinning back kick at the nearest of the six soldiers that have come in to assassinate them all. The other five she leaves to her capable colleagues.

    Super strength -- the HYDRA agent goes flying out of the tent. "Damn," she says as that is noticed and an alarm raises in the base. "Colonel, time to choose how this goes."

Lance Hunter has posed:
"Wait a doggone minute..." Talbot begins as the situation starts slipping out of his control. The prisoners are getting loose and Romanoff has his sidearm. "Wait a minute, who's going to come and shoot me in the middle of my own camp?" he begins to demand before the men come into the tent, one tripping over the chair thrown by Croft before Bobbi kicks the other out of the tent entirely.

Freed by Bobbi, Lance grabs his own chair and hurls it at one of the men, then dives as the man's weapon falls from his grasp, though May and Croft are closer.

Talbot hit the deck when the men fired, and he brushes off his uniform as he looks about, "Looks like we're on the same side, for now, get going with your gizmo, and god speed," he says before pulling out his radio, calling out for his men to meet him on the far side of camp.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha swiftly kicks one soldier's gun upward from his side, then snaps that same boot into the man's stomach. As he bends forward, Natasha goes down one knee, pulling the man down so he's draped over her knee. Extending her gun arm out over his body, Natasha fires three shots at the man besides him, then - rather callously, all told - puts a bullet into the back of her first victim's head before shoving him off of her leg.

    Bobbi's situation gets sent to the back of the line in her head until the situation's over. That's just how she is.

Melinda May has posed:
With Daisy's hands free, May relies on her, Nat, and Bobbi to play interference to the first wave. She drops beneath any gunfire and rolls toward Lara. "Hands," she snaps at her. Then she takes a moment to free her as she did Daisy. Because, yes. All hands on deck.

Once Lara is free, too, May returns to the fight. She kicks a chair across the tent into the side of another goon as he slashes into the tent. Then, she's dashing to close the distance. The chair gets kicked up a second time. She plants it, grips it with two hands, and then swings her feet up to slam into his face. She lands on top of him as he crashes back, riding him to the ground.

His weapon ends up in her hands. Still kneeling on his unconscious form, she fires off two shots at another man entering. "Really wish we still had ICERs," she says.

Then, however, Talbot is on side and calling for his men to back him out. "Time to go!" She's on her feet and moving toward the tent entry. She moves into it to clear it and finds that gun with the ICER bullets she wants. She picks it up, slinging the other weapon over her back, and starting to toss gear to the others as each one frees themselves from the fight.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's turning herself around to raise her hands up toward May befor ethe command is even barked at her. She can hear Romanoff going to action like she is one to do to help buy them time, the shots ringing out in the tent are ear piercing, but there's more to be concerned with in the time being!

When her cuffs pop off, Lara spins around to see the man she'd kicked the chair at stumbling across the floor and reaching out toward the gun he'd dropped. She drives toward him and slides toward it just in time for both of their hands to grab the weapon. She rolls off to the side to sweep herself over on top of the man as he and she grapple for control of the gun.

But, ultimately, he weighs more than she does and easily rolls her over to reach for the weapon out of her hands, to rend it from her grip. With a grin on his visage the man pulls the

She extends a hidden a knife from her boot and plunges it up in to the man's stomach and under his ribs. He goes stiff, the blade up in his body now causing his muscles to seize and his hands to go loose on the gun, so Lara counters and pops his wrists off of the gun grip to take it from his grasp before she spins it around and shoots him right on the bridge of his nose!

Of course, well, he's dead now, and falling on top of her with her boot stuck in his body. He weighs a LOT!

Lara gruns and starts to roll to the left to toss the man's body off of her with a heavy groan and a quick look around to judge the ongoing fight!

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    The guy Bobbi kicked out of the tent rushes back in and Daisy hammers him with her wubwubs. He hits his head on one of the bars. Bobbi catches the ICER from May and slides it in to the holster. The keys to the truck are tossed to Lance and she says, "Get the truck started." She nods to Talbot and offers her hand, "Good luck with Hale."

    Leaving the colonel she slips the blood back in to her top, then picks up the machine because that's enough with pushing it around on its little wheels.

    With the sirens sounding and Talbot giving orders, suddenly gunfire is breaking out across the camp. That six that came to assassinate them has been revealed to be a dozen and a half. But that's Talbot's fight now. Bobbi says to the team, "Let's move out. Come me."

    With rushed but controlled steps, she goes for the truck. In to the back, she ties the machine down and leaves the second front seat for May. Bobbi rests on to one of the seats and says, "Punch it."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "Roger." Natasha replies curtly, firing a last couple rounds at the men outside, before she turns on her heel and catches the weapon May throws her with one hand. At the same moment, she under-hand throws Talbot's pistol back to him, and pats the side of his shoulder twice as she passes, following after the others into the truck.

Lance Hunter has posed:
Catching the pistol as Nat throws it Talbot gives the woman a nod of thanks before taking off to lead his men and arrest that HYDRA spy General Hale.

Out in the truck, Hunter gets the engine running and once everyone's piled in gets them underway. As the Triskelion looms large in the windshield, he murmurs. "We'll be back," before he floors it driving the truck through the chaos of a camp at war with itself.

Melinda May has posed:
May's out of the tent with Bobbi, flanking her to the van. As Lance crawls into the front, she joins him as shotgun. She glances back over her shoulder at the Triskelion, feeling the pangs all of them have at having to leave 'home' behind, still in the hands of their enemies. God speed the Colonel. Maybe it won't last too much longer.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is out of the tent and tearing the knife off of her boot so her foot doesn't stick in the earth as she runs behind the others. "Crumpets anyone?" Lara says to Talbot as she passes him right after Natasha does.

At the truck, Lara slips the ICER in to her empty holster on her belt and then tears her beanie off her head as she jumps in to the truck and finally drops down in to a seat to release a breath. Her chin tips upward and her eyelids flutter as she tries to regain her composure a moment before she looks around to check on everyone without asking verbally....

Bobbi Morse has posed:
The truck tears through the check point barrier and a few bullets make *tink* sounds against the truck when the guards shoot. But the camp is in chaos and no reinforcements are coming. They get awake with the machine and the blood... and may be a new ally in their battle against Mallick's HYDRA.